1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to improved carriages for centrifugally extracting crabmeat from crab body sections. Even more particularly, the present invention relates to a multisection rotatable carriage which are powered to disassemble during loading and converge prior to and during centrifuging which allows a large plurality of crab body sections to be simultaneously processed.
2. General Background
Numerous devices have been patented which have attempted to solve the problem of removing crabmeat from the exoskeleton of crab body sections, an operation which is typically performed by hand by consumers in restaurants, and at home after boiling or otherwise preparing crabs for consumption. Many of the patented devices are directed to commercialization of crab picking and are referred to generally as crab processing devices.
It has been known in the past to utilize centrifuging or "spinning" of crab bodies in a rotational path so as to extract the crabmeat. See, for example, a very early patent which uses a centrifugal machine for shelling crustacea such as crabs. U.S. Pat. No. 1,175,037 issued Mar. 4, 1916 is entitled "Apparatus for Shelling Crustacea." In that patent there is seen a centrifugal retainer having semi-circular receiving pans or receptacles for the meat and supports or racks for holding the sections of the "fish" to be shelled. A spindle is provided for rotating the centrifugal retainer.
Various other improvements to the concept of centrifugal extraction of crabmeat have also been patented.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,655,583 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Shelling Crustacea" provides a motor-driven rotatable pan having clamps thereinside to secure the crab body sections so that during centrifuging the sections will be retained and the meat extracted from the crab body sections will collect on the periphery of the pan.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,104,072 entitled "Process of an Apparatus for Treating Crustacea" uses another rotatably driven bowl. In the process of preparing the meat of the crustacea in that patent, the patentee subjects the crustacean to centrifugal action in order to separate the meat from the shell and further utilizes the same centrifugal action to affect washing of the separated meat.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,522,578 entitled "Recovery of Crabmeat" shows a coring machine which processes the crab and produces a crab body section by making a circular cut through the ventril surface of the crab body and through the meat and skeletal parts within the body. After removing the core from the crab the meat is extracted therefrom by centrifugal action.
Another patent which cores and centrifugally removes crabmeat is entitled "Apparatus for Recovery of Crabmeat" which is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 2,525,604.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,771,630 is entitled "Crabmeat Extractor." In that patent after coring a section of the crab body from the crab, the core is rotated about its axis in order to remove the crabmeat.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,229,325 entitled "Apparatus for Extracting Crabmeat" shows a centrifugal device having a carriage for holding a plurality of crab body sections. The carriage includes a spinning basket which features a first and second set of plurality of upstanding and generally parallel pins which are supported at their lower ends from a spinning base with the pins being arranged in circular patterns and disposed concentrically about the axis of rotation. The second set of the pins is disposed radially inwardly of the first set. The crabs are placed between the inner and outer sets of pins and are held down by an annular plate which has apertures that allow the pins to pass through it.
A more recent patent is U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,792 entitled "Crabmeat Extraction Apparatus and Method." The machine which is the subject of '792 patent provides a machine and method for extracting meat from the body shells of crabs by the employment of centrifugal force characterized by structures and procedures which permit operation at different speeds operative to selectively and successively extract the more valuable, relatively large lump meat sections in substantially unbroken condition; followed by extraction of the smaller, less valuable flake meat sections by centrifugal rotation at a higher speed. Part of the apparatus utilizes a rotating tray which carries a plurality of radially extending, angularly spaced clips which are pivoted on upstanding hinge lugs and biased by means of a spring to normally urge the forward end of the clip into a closed position. The spring biased clips and cooperating teeth function to securely hold crab bodies and restrain them against centrifugal force during rotation of the trays. A single crab is secured by each of the clamps.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,548,449 entitled "Crabmeat Extraction Method" there is described a method for removing crabmeat from crab body sections which uses two rotating speeds as part of the method. The first rotating speed is at a lower speed to remove larger lump sections of crabmeat while a higher speed rotation rotates the crab body sections to remove the smaller pieces of meat.